France is pressing for Russian-Uzbek businessman Alisher Usmanov to be removed from the EU sanctions list in an effort to secure the release of an unspecified number of French nationals detained in Azerbaijan, according to several officials and diplomats familiar with the negotiations.
The French position has complicated efforts in Brussels to renew EU sanctions on Russia, which cover almost 3,000 individuals and entities accused of supporting Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measures are due to expire this month.
